1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer-readable-recording medium storing a program and an image file management apparatus which are suitably used for dividedly recording an image file.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a method for managing image files, a method employing a format, such as DCF (Design rule for Camera File system), in which high-resolution real image data and low-resolution thumbnail image data constitute a single image file has been proposed. In this management method, the high-resolution image data is referred to when detailed information of image data is to be obtained, whereas the low-resolution image data is referred to when brief information of the image data is to be obtained. Accordingly, this method has an advantage in that information to be referred to is selected in accordance with an object of usage of the image data.
However, with the method for managing image data described above, since a single file should include low-resolution image data and high-resolution image data, even when only brief information of the image data is to be obtained, that is, the high-resolution image data is not referred to, a file of a large size including the high-resolution image data should be used. In particular, in communication of data such as communication using e-mails or facsimiles, it is important to realize a size of image file data which is transmitted and received which attains a high efficiency.
To obtain image file data of a size attaining a high efficiency, U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,526 discloses the following technique. Specifically, low-resolution image data and high-resolution image data are separated from each other, and only the low-resolution image data is attached to an e-mail to be transmitted. Then, only when the high-resolution image data is necessary, a user who received the e-mail obtains the high-resolution image data through another communication unit in accordance with an instruction described in the e-mail.
However, in the management method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,526, the user should obtain the high-resolution image data in accordance with the instruction described in the e-mail including the low-resolution image data attached thereto. That is, the user cannot refer to an image file including the high-resolution image data only using an image file including the low-resolution image data.
United State Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0254072 discloses the following technique. Specifically, in an original image including a first image file and a second image file, the second image file only having a thumbnail of a resolution lower than that of a first image is separated from the first image file. Then, high-resolution data and low-resolution data are separately managed so that a second image having a lower resolution is normally used and a first image having a higher resolution is used as needed. United States Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0254072 further discloses processing of obtaining the high-resolution data using the low-resolution data using the image files separately managed.
As described above, in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0254072, exemplary embodiments of format determination associated with the method for separately managing images are disclosed, and processing of generating image files in accordance with the method for separately managing images is proposed. Furthermore, processing of obtaining image files separately managed in accordance with the proposed method is disclosed.
However, United States Patent Application US2005/0254072 does not disclose setting of printing such as setting of image processing used for printing the original image file (high-resolution data). Therefore, only with the technique disclosed in United States Patent Application US2005/0254072, when the original image file (high-resolution data) is obtained in accordance with the thumbnail image file (low-resolution data) and printing processing is performed after image processing is performed, the user should instruct the image processing every time the printing processing is performed. That is, the user should perform cumbersome operations.
As a technique of performing the image processing on a first image and performing the same image processing on a second image associated with the first image, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-187215 discloses a technique of performing various image correction operations on an original image so that at least one resultant image is generated and displaying the at least one resultant image on a display. In this technique, a user selects one of the image correction operations so that image correction is performed on the original image and at least one resultant image which is corrected is stored. Specifically, when the original image is subjected to the image correction and a resultant corrected image is printed in accordance with a user's instruction, the corrected image is stored as it is so that the corrected image which is obtained through the same image correction is easily printed the next time. Consequently, when the user wishes to print the corrected image which is obtained through the same image correction, printing is performed not using the original image but using the corrected image which is obtained through the image correction. In this way, setting of image processing is not necessary to be performed every time the printing processing is performed.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-333372 discloses a technique of displaying, when an original image is corrected, a thumbnail image, which is similarly corrected, corresponding to the corrected original image.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-348506 discloses a technique of storing use histories of thumbnail images in an image editing device so that a user easily recognizes an image which has been used in the past when the user views a list of the thumbnail images.
However, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-187215 described above, there arises a problem in that, since a corrected image is stored every time image correction is performed, the number of corrected images derived from a single original image is increased, and accordingly, an amount of image data which is managed by a user is considerably increased.